Seeking a fast-track approval for its COVID-19 vaccine, US major Pfizer has told Indian authorities that its jab has shown high effectiveness against the SARS-CoV-2 variant prevalent in India and on people of Indian ethnicity or nationality, while it is suitable for everyone aged 12 years or above and can be stored for a month at 2-8 degrees, sources said on Wednesday.

Pfizer, which is ready to offer 5 crore doses to India between July and October this year and has sought certain relaxations including indemnification, has held a series of interactions with the Indian government authorities recently including one this week, during which it shared the most recent data points regarding efficacy trials and approvals for its vaccine in various countries and by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the world will not be the same after Covid-19 and noted that the events in the future will be remembered as either pre or post-Covid.

Delivering the keynote address on the occasion of Virtual Vesak Global Celebrations on Buddha Purnima, the prime minister expressed gratitude towards the frontline and healthcare workers who were selflessly risking their lives every day in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and also extended condolences to those who lost their dear ones to the deadly viral infection.

More than 1.77 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with states and union territories, and they will receive one lakh more within the next three days, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

The Centre has so far provided, both under the free of cost category and through the direct state procurement category, more than 22 crore vaccine doses (22,00,59,880) to states and UTs, it said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin on Wednesday said the government will bring a resolution in the state Assembly asking the Union government to withdraw the three farm laws.

The three farm laws brought in by the government are -- Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

The cyclone Yaas landfall has begun near Dhamra port in Odisha at 9.15 am on Wednesday, even as strong winds and heavy tides saw seawater ingress in many coastal towns and villages in Odisha and West Bengal ahead of the landfall.

The landfall process has begun and will take 3-4 hours to complete the process. The maximum impact will be in Balasore and Bhadrak district, Odishas Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena told reporters.

In the first quarter of this year, Korean companies took up more than half of the global TV market and showed off their presence.

LG Electronics leads the premium TV market with more than doubled OLED TV shipments compared to the same period last year in the first quarter of this year. Samsung Electronics, the world's No. 1 company, also sold 10 million QLED TVs this year due to strong sales of its new product called Neo QLED.

The overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 167.6 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 3.48 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Wednesday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 167,628,424 and 3,481,199, respectively.

The Covid-19 toll in West Bengal rose to 14,674 after 157 more people succumbed to the disease on Tuesday while there has been a slight dip in the number of daily cases, the health department bulletin said.

The daily case count of the state dropped marginally to 17,005 from 17,883 on Monday.

COVID-19 vaccine COVAXIN's manufacturer Bharat Biotech on Tuesday said application for Emergency Use Listing (EUL) of its vaccine has been submitted to World Health Organisation (WHO), Geneva, and regulatory approvals are expected between July and September.

The latest status of COVID-19 vaccines within WHO EUL/PQ evaluation process' guidance document dated May 18 on the WHO website said Bharat Biotech submitted EOI (Expression of Interest) on April 19 and that more information is required.

An 81-year-old pensioner in the UK who made history when he became the first man in the world to have the COVID-19 vaccination has died of an unrelated illness, the British media reported on Tuesday.

William Shakespeare hit global headlines on December 8 last year when he became the first man to have the jab to fight against the coronavirus at the University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.

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